This retrospective audit analysed data from the Auckland Hospital Urology Service database of all men presenting there for a first prostate biopsy in 2005 and 2006. The study aim was to determine whether Māori and Pacific Islander men in Auckland present with more advanced prostate cancer at diagnosis than New Zealand European or European men. Ethnicity was coded from self-identification codes on hospital databases. No appreciable difference was observed when Māori and Pacific Islander men were compared with European men for median PSA level (13.30 vs 12.55 ng/mL); median Gleason score (7 and 7), mean Gleason score (7.0 vs 6.9) or the proportion of Gleason Score 7 or 8–10. Likewise, the rates of metastatic disease did not differ at presentation (11.5% vs 7.8%). However, there appeared to be a significant difference in the proportion of Māori and Pacific Islanders presenting with palpable disease compared with European men (67.2% vs 53.3%; p=0.042). The crude population biopsy rate per 100,000 was similar for Māori and Pacific Islander and European men (560 vs 547).
